The invention relates to particulating or agglomerating materials. In one aspect, the invention relates to particulating carbon black. In another aspect, the invention relates to an apparatus for particulating materials such as carbon black. In yet another aspect, the invention relates to drying particulating materials such as particles of carbon black.
Pelletizing fine materials is frequently a troublesome and expensive process. For example, in the pelleting of carbon black using water as a pelleting fluid, the cost of operating the pelleting and subsequent drying process can amount to as much as 1/3 of the total cost of producing the finished, pelleted product. One of the reasons why operating costs are so high is the high energy requirement for driving water from the carbon black pellets. Another reason is that the water vapors liberated from the pellets combine with the acid gases produced as a byproduct during the manufacturing process and severely corrode processing equipment. Reducing the costs and energy usage in a carbon black manufacturing process would clearly be very desirable.